Rating: 
Summary: It put me to sleep
Review: That's right, friends and neighbors - hearing the King read his own works zonked me right out. These stories may just work on the printed page, or perhaps with somebody else reading them - but certainly not Stephen King. His voice just drones, on and on, ad infinitum (almost ad nauseam) in a monotone that only slightly varies when his characters get a tad emotional.It really pains me to have to say this, because I've loved everything King has ever written (except the Dark Tower series, which makes absolutely no sense at all) - but he's a much better writer than a reader. Note that I say "reader", not "speaker". I've heard him speak, both off the cuff and in a lecture, and he's much more emotional and emphatic in those modes. Please, Stephen, put these stories out in a book, or get someone else to read them. The blurb on the case that says "read by the author" is a nice gimmick, but that's all it is - a gimmick.
Rating: 
Summary: Paranormal but humorous
Review: Stephen King has been experimenting some new forms of communication for a while, and his attempt at giving short stories on CDs is quite a promising success. First his voice is agreeable and hoarse enough to give density to stories that need heavily-packed language. We could regret that some voice effects are too bland, but that is a choice and it is acceptable if we consider the object of these recordings is to make people use their imagination and not only to manipulate their hearing to plunge them into a pre-constructed audio world. We have to represent the referential world of the stories in our mind’s eye. First , Lunch at the Gotham Café is a thriller and it is absolutely exciting. Every moment of it is more dramatic than the previous one, exploring the mind of a man suddenly turned crazy and murderous, and also exploring the mind of the main character, Steve, trying to cope with the craziness of the havoc the maître d’ is creating, as well as exploring the vicious mind of Steve’s wife, soon to be ex-wife, who is getting just as lunatic as the maître d’ and becoming unable to see that she was saved by Steve and even quite able to try to make him fail in his attempt, to get some vengeance of hers, not realizing that she would kill herself in the same move. Blood all right, but Stephen King shows that under any stress at all, the real reaction of a smoker is to quit and then his vision is demultiplied into a nightmare that can any time come true. And it sure does here. Second, 1408 is the only story of the set that contains an element of supernatural dimension : one room of one hotel in New York is inhabited by some unhuman being, or is it really a being of any kind ? Yet it is carnivorous and you can only escape it by killing yourself or using the only thing it is afraid of : fire. And there is the smoke of a book of matches used to light up, not a cigarette but a victim, so that the being lets the victim go because it does not like roasted meat. Yet He will not escape the trap really and he will go away with some unhealthy souvenirs who will eventually bring him down to an early death in suffering. But keep some matches at hand all the time. It is the safest way to escape one of those haunting « beings » that live in the walls of our urban buildings. Third, In the Deathroom is another thriller, a realistic story about some kind of anti-communist dictatorship in some kind of Central American big-brother-state. There, tobacco is the means to escape, the tool to fake your way out of the torture room, the death room, the death row of the Ministry of Information of that hellish paradise for Hitler’s babies and apprentices. The point is that tobacco will never become a new habit for such an escapee from Tortureland. It will become some pilgrimage of a vague one-minute instant on forty-third street, just to pay homage to the tool that triggered out the forage to freedom of our hero. A brilliant set, a set of stories gleaming with power, suspense, surprise, horror, and, above all, realism. Stephen King is not speaking of any out-of-the-world fantasy, but of our everyday life of divorce, lunacy, crime, nightmares, fears, torture and dictatorship. Please get down to it and jump into that phenomenal trip.
Rating: 
Summary: 4 stars if you are a fan of S.K.
Review: You get more enjoyment from this if hearing Stephen King talking is a novelty for you. It is for me, but just to rate the stories and delivery itself I give it a three altogether. The first two stories seemed short to me and they were both really entertaining and if I could just rate them I'd give them a four or five. The last one I didn't think was all that great, it probably has something to do with the fact that I didn't care what happened to that guy. However the first two are no doubt just as good on paper as they are being read- I think that's part of what made them so good. It starts out with a mad worker at a resturant going crazy during a meeting between the main character and his wife and two divorice lawyers. definetely a fun story. Like a Richard Bachman story, no remorse and fairly gross. The second one may be scary if listened to in the dark... It is about a man who writes books about ghosts and actually runs into a freakishly haunted room and barely lives to tell about it. Another good one. The third one is about some sort of ... Okay I don't even remember that one very well- It took me two or three times to sit down and listen to that last one and I forgot about it. What can I say. I am a King fan but that one just didn't stick with me. I guess even if you're not a fan you'll probably like atleast the first two. Hope that helps- if you can I suggest that you download it unless of course you are a collector.
Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: I have read everything Stephen King has written and have always looked forward to what is going to be coming out next. I purchased the audiobook as it was the only way to experience it, even thought I would much prefer a novel. I thought at least it might be neat to hear his voice reading his words. I was so disappointed! The stories were very mediocre for King. I had trouble paying attention to them and I think his style of reading took away from the stories. I hope he has this out of his system! I hope these were old stories he had and decided to finally publish them, I would hate to think this is his latest work and this is what we have to look forward to from now on!
Rating: 
Summary: STILL GOT IT!
Review: After the touching disappointment,Bag of Bones, he's back to scare. Though this collection is not is no Night Shift, It's good. The first, Lunch at the Gothame Cafe, is a humorous but scary look at a failed marriage and psychotic waiter handling too much stress. The second, I can't remember the name, but it is a cool ghost story about a room that doesn't have a pleasing effect on it's occupants. The last is the let down. In the Death Room is a bad spy/torture tale.
Rating:
Summary: Some great ghost stories
Review: Three stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you like to listen to a good ghost story this is a must from the first of the 3 stories to the end, these will keep you on the edge of your seat and will make you think, what is real and what is not.
Rating:
Summary: Never too old to use new media
Review: I have just bought my first audiobook, only because it was King. I smoke and just die to give up the habit. Never too old to use new media! Snip: (...)
Rating:
Summary: Good Stories
Review: I have read many, of Stephen King's books over the past three years The Green Mile, Bag Of Bones, Hearts In Atlantis are my favorite. But this audiobook is good stories are good. The music is good also, so buy this if your a Stephen King Fan!
Rating:
Summary: Good.
Review: This is very weird and exciting just like all Stephen King's books. I think you should also try "The Breathing Method" by Stephen King on tapes, both I bought together, and both are really good.
Rating:
Summary: Reading and Writing
Review: Stephen King is undoubtedly one of the greatest popular writers of our time; but is he one of the greatest readers? This begs the question, does an okay reading of a great story make the story just okay? Or, does an amazing reading of a terrible story make the story amazing? It's hard to say. Regardless, the three audio only (except for Lunch at the Gotham Cafe if you can dig it up) stories that make up Blood and Smoke come across as just okay. Lunch at the Gotham Cafe has a dissolving marriage at its heart and seems to be the most serious of the three stories. It is vintage King in its treatment of all the injustices in the world. Maybe lawyers aren't so bad after all. And divorces are just par for the course. Or maybe they both lead to something more horrible than any of us can imagine. Room 1408 is the most entertaining of the three in that it is as classic a haunted house story as they get. King does a terrific job twisting the hotel room into something horrible without actually throwing in any monsters. This story is also the most easily adaptable to the audio form. The final story, In the Deathroom, was entertaining, but had a "so what" kind of feeling about it. A reporter is captured by Mexican bad guys and interrogated "in the deathroom". While I was engaged, I'm not sure why. Maybe reading the story would have made it more accessible. Ultimately, the gimmik of the cigarette theme and the audio only presentation don't do anything meritorious to the collection. Cigarettes play a significant role in the first story and make ironic guest appearances in the other two, but that's it. And while I commend King for continuing to push the envelope on the written word (or spoken), I think I would have enjoyed these stories more were I to have read them.
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